Greens vs. ‘Astroturf:’ The coal port TV wars

A new TV ad, featuring endless snake-like coal trains and held-up emergency vehicles, is hitting the airwaves in Seattle and Vancouver, Wash., this week, as green groups move to counter a television barrage by an “Astroturf” group that seeks to build support for location of a huge coal export terminal (or terminals) in Washington.

The spot is paid for by the Sierra Club, on behalf of an environmental alliance called Power Past Coal. It seeks to phase out use of coal to generate energy in America — including the aging Colstrip plants in Montana partly owned by Puget Sound Energy — and to discourage export of the greenhouse gas-emitting fuel to power plants in China and South Korea.

“We cannot stand idly by as the airwaves are blanketed with distortions and distractions from the serious threats posed by coal exports to our communities. What we know for sure is, the more folks learn about this issue the more they don’t like it,” said Laura Stevens of the Sierra Club.

The TV spots are keyed to a pair of “scoping” hearings, in Vancouver on Wednesday and Seattle on Thursday.

A trio of governments and agencies — Whatcom County, the state Department of Ecology, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement and seeking suggestions on what impacts they ought to study. Big crowds have turned out for hearings in Bellingham, Ferndale, Mount Vernon and Spokane.

The spotlight is on a proposal by SSA Marine to build a large coal export terminal at Cherry Point, north of Bellingham. It would receive coal, via long trains, from Montana and Wyoming for shipment to China. The terminal would have a capacity of 50 million tons of coal each year.

Several legislators, as well as Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and other mayors, are worried that mile-long coal trains would tie up commerce and traffic — and potential emergency response — along their waterfronts. As many as 18 trains would pass daily through Seattle.

The pro-export Alliance for Northwest Jobs and Exports has filled TV screens with commercials arguing that coal exports mean jobs, and that rigorous environmental standards would be applied.

The TV spots warn that if Washington doesn’t export coal, the business will simply go elsewhere. The same argument — it’ll go elsewhere — is being used to promote expansion of coal terminals in Vancouver, B.C. And it is being heard in Australia, where the line is that coal will be shipped from the United States if the Aussies balk at shipping it from their ports.

The Alliance is officially “a non-profit trade coalition,” but is known in the public affairs business as an “Astroturf” group — set up by powerful backstage interests to look like a grassroots organization. It is backed by major coal companies, railroads, shipping interests and some construction unions.

Its members include the National Association of Manufacturers, Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, Cloud Peak Energy, the Montana Coal Council, Pembre Energy, the National Mining Association, the Wyoming Mining Association, the Union Pacific Railroad, the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad, the Associated General Contractors of Washington, SSA Marine and the Oregon Building Trades Council.

The Alliance has declined to discuss the cost of its TV blitz or which companies are paying how much of the freight.

The Sierra Club’s ads will run in Vancouver through the 14th, and in Seattle through the 15th of December. The Vancouver spot talks about environmental and health hazards from coal dust. The Seattle spot stresses the potential for transportation tie-ups.

The Wednesday “scoping” hearing in Vancouver will be from 4-7 p.m. at Clark College. The Seattle session will be 4-7 p.m. in the Seattle Trade and Convention Center. The three agencies will conduct a lottery to pick 150 people who will be allowed to testify for two minutes apiece.